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Last February, César Vargas became New York’s first undocumented immigrant lawyer, after six years of being licensed as a lawyer followed by a four-year court trial to earn his right to practice law.
A native of the Mexican central state of Puebla, Vargas, who is also an activist, graduated with honors from the School of Law at the City University of New York.
These days, César is aware of the concerns shared by undocumented immigrants, particularly those of the Mexican community. In an interview with EL UNIVERSAL, he explains how “many young people are trying to renew their Deffered Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), before president-elect of the U.S., Donald Trump, takes office”.
The young lawyer details some of the cases he is currently advising on “I have the case of undocumented families with children in the armed forces who have already gained their American citizenship. Also, cases where their children are in process of receiving asylum and need to have the DACA applied so as to have the deporting process against them cancelled. All the cases vary in nature, but they do represent the Mexican community, which is largely worried and scared and has its people wishing to speak with any legal expert to understand their situation and to know of any reliefs in the system that can help them”.
When asked about the meaning that advising on these cases bears for him, César Vargas says, “This is why I became a lawyer, I studied law to represent and fight for my community. Most of the services I provide are free of charge. This is about helping people, not about the money. Our number one priority is to provide our community with legal advice. These are my mother’s teachings: never turn your back on your community”.
Concerning Trump’s proposed deportation plan, César adds, "let's give him the opportunity to prove himself as a leader, but let's also play the game with a defensive strategy."
César remembers his last day in Mexico, “It had a major impact in my life. I remember being in school, when my teacher told me that my mom had come early to pick me up. Instead of going home we headed straight to the altar in Puebla’s Cathedral, where my mom started to pray. I keep a picture of that day, it represents my mother’s sacrifice. We were very young when we crossed the border, you can see the four of us little ones, my mother and the “coyote”, or people smuggler, in the picture. I always thought of it as an adventure, I was only five years old and was never afraid because my mother was with me along the way. I understood that we would begin a new life”.
Recently, this young lawyer worked as a national strategist of Latino affairs in Bernie Sanders run for the Democratic Presidential Nomination.
Vargas adds,“ I will always cherish the Mexican culture, I recognize myself as a Mexican who has the U.S. as his home. At this particular moment in our history we have to find a way to build bridges between our two countries to ensure that everybody has the chance to live a better life, regardless of nationality. My mother had to run away from her country in search of better life opportunities, therefore I do hope that my efforts, to prevent anyone from going through something similar, pay off”.
